Heavenly Father Has A Plan

This weekend we were able to watch conference I was able to watch it in English which was really nice. I don’t know if conference is just way better as a missionary or what but it was amazing. I really enjoyed all of the talks and am so thankful for a living Prophet today. It seems like that was something they talked a lot about this conference. I also like the talk about what we leave behind and another talk that talked about being thankful. I am SOO GRATEFUL for you family and I love you so much. I really was thinking about you a lot this week. Something that hit me really strongly during conference was that Heavenly Father has a plan for every one of his children every single one. And he prepares us in life for different things. This week we also had Zone meeting. It is pretty much a zone conference but we are doing things a little bit differently in the mission at the request of the area presidency. We have a zone conference quarterly, but zone meeting every transfer. They are pretty much the same exact thing President S talked about how God prepares us in different ways for things that are going to happen later in life. I really believe that to be true. And I know that my mission is shaping me a lot for later in life. I know that it is the same for everyone back home and the people here. It has helped me a lot to be excited about the work. It helps knowing that everyone has a plan and that we are all children of God. It makes a world of Difference to have that knowledge.

Seventh Kilometer Market

The Seventh Kilometer Market, a vast collection of shipping containers converted into market stalls that spread over 170 acres. Most of the shops are neither buildings nor stalls. They are shipping containers, stacked two high in rows long enough to be called streets, though these are little more than overcrowded alleys. The market offers low prices on all sorts of consumer goods, including counterfeits of Western brands. Ukrainians, upon seeing someone flaunting items with Western logos (Adidas, Nike, Rolex, etc.), may dismiss the items as "from Odessa", meaning they are knockoffs.
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Potemkin Steps

One of Odessa's best known landmarks is the Potemkin Steps (as it was named during Soviet times and is still referred to by most, even though the official name was changed back to the pre-Soviet "Primorsky Steps" after independence in 1991). This collection of 192 steps and ten landings runs from Primorsky Boulevard (and a statue of Duc de Richelieu) down to Odessa's harbor on the Black Sea. The steps are famous for two interesting optical illusions. First, as you stand at the top look down you still only the landings (not the individual steps themselves), but if you stand at the bottom and look up you see only the stairs' risers and not the landings. Second, the bottom of the staircase is almost twice as wide as the top (71 feet versus 41 feet), creating an exaggerated sense of perspective that makes the steps appear much longer than they really are.

Fall Is In The Air In Odessa

The leaves are starting to change color.

Babushkas

The old ladies are very noticeable in Ukraine, they're called 'Babushkas' or Bob’s for short. They seem to spend their days outside. They join together for a chat on the benches in front of their homes, or walking their dog or in this case goats (notice the cart she is pulling). Because they are in every public place they contribute to making the cities feel safe. They have even been known to get after elders if they think we are not dressed warm enough.

Cinnamon Rolls

So guess what, I am becoming quite the cook. My companion doesn’t really know how to cook so I have been doing the cooking. I make almost every meal that we eat now... Isn’t that a scary thought? Well the other day I really wanted cinnamon rolls so I found a recipe and I made them, they were so good but nothing like yours. I was just surprised they turned out.

The Beach

On p-day we went to the beach and played Ultimate Frisbee with some Ukrainians and other elders. It was cool to see the black sea I don’t think that anything can beat San Diego beaches but it wasn’t that bad. The Black Sea didn’t really have waves like San Diego but it was nice to be on the sand.

What's Cookin?

I am getting better at cooking but I am not the best. I am going to change that on my mission :)

Ties!!!

We went to this place called Seven K to get ties. They are about were about $2 a tie. It was 333 griven which is like $42. They are way cheap and in the mission, Odessa is known as the place to get ties.

The Landlord

We locked our keys in our apartment this week and that was an adventure. The landlord was already kind of mad at us because we forgot to pay our rent. We had to go to his apartment to get the extra keys to get in. It was funny because our landlord is this old grandpa guy and he was like what is up with you young people. Haha well he really likes us because we have kept the apartment pretty clean.